Under siege: Lekki hoodlums brazenly attack motorists, demand ‘settlement’

Motorists navigating the Lekki-Epe Expressway, a vital corridor in Lagos, face a growing menace from hoodlums who demand "settlements" and attack vehicles. Despite government crackdowns, these touts, popularly known as 'area boys,' continue to extort drivers along this busy route.

The Lekki-Epe Expressway, connecting numerous residential estates, commercial centers, and tourist destinations, is used by thousands daily. However, beneath the area's modern developments, residents and road users report that hoodlums have turned sections of the highway into extortion points. They use stones, sticks, and other objects to threaten drivers who refuse to pay.

Key hotspots for this extortion include Marwa Bus Stop, Victoria Garden City (VGC), Ikota, Ilaje, Abraham Adesanya, and Freedom Way. The hoodlums often target motorists during morning and evening rush hours when traffic is heavy, and vehicles are trapped. The situation reportedly worsens when a vehicle breaks down or is involved in a minor accident, with victims sometimes forced to pay hundreds of thousands of naira.

To ensure compliance, some hoodlums deliberately create traffic bottlenecks by placing discarded tires and debris on the road. Drivers who resist payment often face attacks on their vehicles, resulting in damaged windscreens, dented body panels, and shattered side mirrors. A recent video showed hoodlums blocking the VGC section of the expressway under construction to extort drivers.